trees

As the weather cooler a little, I worked outside a lot this week. This is looking out over my beloved back garden, oasis this week. I am working on a book (not part of a current series), that will be released later this year I hope, if not, next year.

In the garden I am doing a lot of clearing up of leaves! My 9 magnificent gum trees are shedding a lot of spent leaves and twigs and the hot summer winds are helping move that process right along. I'm harvesting lots of basil, chillies, parsley, chives, rosemary, last of the silverbeet, cos lettuce, tiny toms, sage, sorrel, cucumbers and I am blessed with many beautiful roses! The last of the most wonderful sunflowers has faded for the year and I've carefully collected millions of seeds. I am sure there are at least thousands! one of my herb patches this week

one of my lovelies with a card from my Flower Reading Cards deck

harvest!

I am catching up with a cluster I missed last year at Pearsons School of Floristry ~ Hand Tied. Learning how to create bouquets and flower presentations and prepare them for sale and for occasions.

This week I had a lot of fun on STUDIO10 again, sharing some flower love and fun

Next week I plan to:*ensure I get a Flower of the Day up for you all every day! *climb up to the half-way mark on the new book I am writing. *complete a few block prints I have sketched out*catch up on my Pearsons School of Floristry assignments *repot my Devil's Ivy and propagate a few new babies *plant some leeks and radish and perhaps some more lettuce. *tidy up all my daisies!

It's no secret that I adore all forms of block printing. There is something incredibly connective to nature to me to be able to create in this layered form of expression. I miss nothing in the creative process.

They do take a long time but there is so much time to think, to focus and to understand each note of nature. First the sketches, then drawing out onto to a lino or wood block and then inking, the reveal and then the addition of colours.

I also began a return to mono printing after seeing Gelli Print plates a while ago. I had experimented with Gelatine Plates (the method these are based on) probably 30 years ago now and although I did enjoy it, I have to say Gelli Print have perfected the creative process with these tools. Love them. So I've been experimenting with a combination of mono printing with Gelli plates and lino printing. This is the first artwork that I'm really happy with after months of experimentation with all the combinations and styles I was dreaming up!

I haven't exhibited in a few years and I have the itch! This is the first in what I hope is a body of work for a solo next year.